scholarly journals A Tale of Two Programs: Broadening Participation of Underrepresented Students in STEM at Loyola Marymount University

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
David Berube ◽  
Christina Eubanks-Turner ◽  
Edward Mosteig ◽  
Tomas Zachariah
Keyword(s):  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Federally Funded ◽  
Mcnair Scholars ◽  
Graduate Degrees ◽  
Mcnair Scholars Program ◽  
Scientific Scholarship

This paper highlights two programs that successfully support underrepresented students in STEM disciplines at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). ACCESS (A Community Committed to Excellence in Scientific Scholarship) is a program that focuses on academics and critical thinking skills, which provides a threeweek residential component for incoming students and continued mentoring during their first year in college. The LMU McNair Scholars Program is one of over 150 McNair Scholars Program sites federally-funded by the U.S. Department of Education and has the overarching goal of increasing number of graduate degrees awarded to students from underrepresented segments of society. For both ACCESS and McNair, we give an overview of each program and detail about components of the programs that have led to success. In addition, we specifically address the rewards and challenges when providing mentorship at multiple levels.

A Compass During the Storm: Offering Students Critical Rigor for Polarizing Times

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Wender ◽  
Valerie J. D’Erman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Learning Objective ◽  
First Year

ABSTRACT Teaching and learning in higher education is occurring, unavoidably, within the broader civic context of today’s extraordinarily polarizing political times. We seek to help students situate themselves with respect to and, above all, thoughtfully assess others’ as well as their own perspectives on issues of profound contention, without contributing to exacerbated polarization ourselves. Specifically, we offer students in our first-year exploratory political science course a vital tool—critical rigor—for navigating but not being inundated by the storm. This article discusses our experiences in teaching the course titled, “The Worlds of Politics,” as we attempt to help students deeply engage in cognitive processes of critical thinking and analysis, without undue infringement from their own—and least of all our own—personal political biases. Our focal learning objective is the cultivation of critical-thinking skills that promote students’ drawing of distinctions between advocacy and analysis, as well as their discerning civic engagement.

scholarly journals Inquiry-based learning to improve student engagement in a large first year topic

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masha Smallhorn ◽  
Jeanne Young ◽  
Narelle Hunter ◽  
Karen Burke da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Multiple Choice Exam ◽  
The Impact

Increasing the opportunity for students to be involved in inquiry-based activities can improve engagement with content and assist in the development of analysis and critical thinking skills. The science laboratory has traditionally been used as a platform to apply the content gained through the lecture series. These activities have exposed students to experiments which test the concepts taught but which often result in a predicted outcome. To improve the engagement and learning outcomes of our large first year biology cohort, the laboratories were redeveloped. Superlabs were run with 100 students attending weekly sessions increasing the amount of contact time from previous years. Laboratories were redeveloped into guided-inquiry and educators facilitated teams of students to design and carry out an experiment. To analyse the impact of the redevelopment on student satisfaction and learning outcomes, students were surveyed and multiple choice exam data was compared before and after the redevelopment. Results suggest high levels of student satisfaction and a significant improvement in student learning outcomes. All disciplines should consider including inquiry-based activities as a methodology to improve student engagement and learning outcome as it fosters the development of independent learners. 

scholarly journals The trilayer approach of teaching physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology concepts in a first-year pharmacy course: the TLAT model

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed A. Islam ◽  
Gauri Sabnis ◽  
Fred Farris
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Concept Maps ◽  
Class Group ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Pharmacy Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
Traditional Lectures ◽  
Active Learning Strategies

This paper describes the development, implementation, and students’ perceptions of a new trilayer approach of teaching (TLAT). The TLAT model involved blending lecture, in-class group activities, and out-of-class assignments on selected content areas and was implemented initially in a first-year integrated pharmacy course. Course contents were either delivered by traditional lectures or by the TLAT. A survey instrument was distributed by SurveyMonkey to determine students’ perceptions of the TLAT model. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Students’ performance in a total of 225 examination and quiz questions was analyzed to evaluate whether the TLAT model improved students’ learning. Students’ ( n = 98) performance scores for TLAT-based and lecture-based questions were 83.3 ± 10.2 and 79.5 ± 14.0, respectively ( P < 0.05). Ninety-three percent of students believed that in-class group activities enhanced conceptual understanding of course materials, helped them take responsibility of their own learning, and enhanced their overall learning experiences. More than 80% of respondents felt that solving cases and developing concept maps helped them sharpen creative and critical thinking skills. In addition, 90% of the respondents indicated that the homework throughout the semester helped them stay up to date and focused with the progress of the course. The use of the TLAT model led to an improvement in student learning of complex concepts. Moreover, the results suggest that this model improves students’ self-reliance and attitudes toward learning. Our findings should serve as an impetus for inclusion of diverse active learning strategies in pharmacy education.

scholarly journals Writing and Metacognition: How Italian Students Represent the School Organization and the Assessment Processes

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Giovanni Moretti ◽  
Arianna Giuliani ◽  
Arianna Lodovica Morini
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
School Organization ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Metacognitive Skills ◽  
Metacognitive Processes ◽  
Argumentative Texts

The importance of involving students in writing activities that encourage them to work on metacognitive processes is shared by educational experts (Albanese et al., 2003; Harris et al., 2010; De Simone et al., 2015). During the formative process, activities that require students to use judgment and critical thinking skills, as well as challenging them to reflect on themes close to their daily-life, are those reported to be more effective (Bruning - Horn, 2000; Boscolo - Gelati, 2007; Smith et al., 2007). The paper presents the results of a writing laboratory developed with Italian undergraduate students. The students were freshmen at the Department of Education of the Roma Tre University. The main objective was to work on the metacognitive skills of students, asking them to clarify their idea of "school organization and assessment processes in Italy", through a written paper. In addition to argumentative texts, students were asked to identify one or more illustrations to support their own judgment. The research hypothesis was that ideas that students have about scholastic organization and about assessment processes could considerably influence the way in which they approach their academic path. The products of the laboratory were systematically shared and discussed with the students. The result of the research confirms the importance of working with students on writing skills and on metacognition. These are shown to be relevant to the students' educational and professional future.

scholarly journals Investigating the Impact of Model Eliciting Activities on Development of Critical Thinking

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Frank ◽  
Jake Kaupp ◽  
Ann Chen
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Learning Assessment ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Model Eliciting Activities ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents a portion of a study on how model eliciting activities (MEAs) impact critical thinking development in first year engineering. Model eliciting activities (MEAs) are realistic problems used in the classroom that require learners to document not only their solution to the problems, but also their processes for solving them. Studies have shown MEAs to be valuable in helping students to develop conceptual understanding, knowledge transfer , and generalizable problem--‐solving skills. This study is investigating the impact of the MEA- integrated course on students’ development of critical thinking skills. Ultimately, the team aims to determine whether the MEA-integrated course facilitates students’ critical thinking. During the fall semester of the 2012/2013 academic year three instruments will be used to evaluate the critical thinking skills (CTS) of first year engineering students. These instruments will be used as both a pre--‐ and post--‐test in order to benchmark CTS of the incoming first year students, and determine the effectiveness of MEA instruction on developing student critical thinking ability. These instruments are the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z (Cornell Z), the International Critical Thinking Essay Test (ICTET) and the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). This paper will present the preliminary findings from analysis of the MEA results and pre and post tests from the study.

Using Queries to Automate Journal Entry Tests: Agile Machinery Group, Inc.

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina M. Loraas ◽  
DeWayne L. Searcy
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Internal Audit ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Journal Entry ◽  
Internal Auditor ◽  
Processing Module ◽  
Audit Team ◽  
Journal Entries

ABSTRACT: The WorldCom fraud was detected by an internal auditor running Access queries, highlighting just one reason for gaining advanced querying skills. This case will develop your technical querying skills and, in addition, will foster teamwork as you work in small groups acting as an outsourced internal audit team taking on Agile Machinery Group, Inc. (AMG) as a first-year client. You are tasked with analyzing the nearly one million records that make up the journal entries of an actual privately held company that employs an array of processing modules and ledgers as well as a manually managed general journal. Using your institutional accounting knowledge, you must consider what the journal entries from each processing module should be, and then compare these expected entries to the actual entries made by company personnel and inquire as to any differences. Further, using critical thinking skills and advanced querying techniques, you must isolate other journal entries that should be studied more in-depth for appropriateness using the “Who, What, When, Where, and Why” approach as defined by Lanza and Gilbert (2007a).

scholarly journals Cognitive Growth Learning Model to Improve the Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-123
Author(s):  
Aprilia Nurul Chasanah
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Differential Calculus ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cognitive Growth ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Central Java

The ability to think critically and mathematically is strongly needed so that the students are able to face the challenges of 4.0 industrial revolution. By thinking critically, they are expected to be more adaptive in finding solutions to each problem. This study aims to identify the students' mathematical critical thinking skills in solving differential calculus problem solving based on some indicators of mathematical critical thinking skills in learning using cognitive growth model. This is a Classroom Action Research (CAR) which was caried out within four weeks in the odd semester of academic year 2018/2019. The subjects of this study were the first-year students of the Mathematics Education Program in one of higher education institutions in Magelang, Central Java who took the Differential Calculus course. Data collection techniques in this study were test, observation, and interviews. The test results were then analyzed quantitatively, and the indicators of critical thinking skills in each question were also described. Based on the results of the study, it can be shown that about 30% students who begin to think critically is initiated by achieving the indicator of analyzing the arguments. However, not all students who begin to think critically are also able to draw conclusions precisely through deductive and inductive reasoning. There are only five or 16.67% who have been able to draw conclusions correctly.

scholarly journals Board 137: Critical Thinking Skills in Non-calculus Ready First-year Engineering Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizzie Santiago ◽  
Anika Pirkey ◽  
Mustapha Animashaun ◽  
Melissa Morris
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document